4 newspapers to offer just 3 print issues a week

NEW ORLEANS -- The Times-Picayune, one of the nation's oldest newspapers, no longer will offer print editions seven days a week and instead plans to offer three printed issues a week starting in the fall.

The change means New Orleans would become the largest metro area in the nation without a daily newspaper.

The changes announced Thursday were combined with similar moves at three major Alabama daily newspapers also owned by the Newhouse family group's Advance Publications. The Birmingham News, the Press-Register in Mobile, and the Huntsville Times will switch to publishing three days a week as part of a new focus on online news. At all four papers, there will be unspecified staff cuts.

All four papers will continue to publish continuously on their Web sites.